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The European Commission might soon appoint an AI envoy — but what the job would actually entail remains undefined.
The idea was floated last week by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a meeting with Europe’s top corporate executives gathered at the European Round Table for Industry.
“It seems to be an idea that comes back now and again,” a diplomatic source told Euronews, noting it was not the first time the post had been suggested.
What the position would actually entail is still far from clear, even within the European Commission. In EU jargon, envoys are typically senior diplomats appointed to handle high-level negotiations, specific issues or regions.
However, the new AI envoy is meant not only to represent the EU externally — travelling to Silicon Valley, for instance — but also to give fresh impetus to the bloc’s industrial policy in this area, including the so-called AI gigafactories: massive facilities to develop cutting-edge AI technologies.
That initiative has faced criticism from European business leaders for the slow pace of progress and the limited financial resources available for these costly infrastructure projects.
Critics argue that the gigafactories then, and the AI envoy now, are typical of von der Leyen’s style: loud political announcements that yield little outcome.
“With von der Leyen, there is a lot of hype, but not much substance behind it,” MEP Michael McNamara (Ireland/Renew) told Euronews.
Commission insiders take a different view, arguing that von der Leyen’s strength lies in getting ahead of the curve, setting the political agenda and leaving the operational detail to the EU’s bureaucratic machinery.
The announcement came days after EU policymakers finalised a reform of the AI Act, the bloc’s flagship law regulating the technology.
The intent is clear: now that the regulatory framework is taking shape, Brussels wants to signal its intent to re-enter the international AI race, currently dominated by the US and China, and to give new momentum to European investment and technological innovation.
Thus, the post is expected to be assigned to a high-level personality who would report directly to President von der Leyen.
Still, what exact competences the new post would have, and how it would interact with the Commission’s existing structure, including the European AI Office, remains an open question.
“I’m not sure what this new figure could actually do,” McNamara said. “Europe is facing structural problems holding back the development of AI — high energy costs, a lack of capital investment.”